Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing.
在我六歲的時候，我在一本名叫《自然真實故事》的書中，欣賞到了一幅令人驚奇的照片。這是一張在原始草原里，一條蟒蛇正在活生生吞下一頭大象的照片。以下是我的拙作。
In the book it said, “Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing it. After that they are not able to move, and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion.”
I pondered deeply, then, over the adventures of the jungle. And after some work with a colored pencil I succeeded in making my first drawing. My Drawing Number One. It looked like this:
書里解釋說:“蟒蛇無需咀嚼獵物，一整個吞下大象，之后蟒蛇動彈不得，它需要整整六個月的時間休眠，來消化整頭大象?！?/p>
我深感神奇，就到叢林里探險了幾次，又經(jīng)過些許努力，我用畫筆完成了我的一號畫作。我的一號畫作，它是這個樣子的:
I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups, and asked them whether the drawing frightened them.
But they answered, “Frighten? Why should anyone be frightened by a hat?”
My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it, I made another drawing: I drew the inside of the boa constrictor, so that the grown-ups could see it clearly. They always need to have things explained. My Drawing Number Two looked like this:
我向大人們展示我的佳作，還問他們畫作有沒有嚇到他們。
但他們回答說:“嚇人嗎？我為什么會害怕一頂帽子??？?！?/p>
我畫的不是一頂帽子，而是一只正活生生脫下一頭大象的蟒蛇。但是因為大人們不能夠懂得，我又畫了另一幅畫作:我將蟒蛇的肚子里的大象畫了出來，這樣他們可以很清楚的辨別出來。大人們總是要把事情解釋清楚。我的畫作二號是這樣子的:
The grown -ups’ response, this time, was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors, whether from the inside or the outside, and devote myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. That is why, at the age of six, I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter. I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.
這次，大人則是建議我把畫作放一邊，別再去管蟒蛇肚里獨外了，好好全身心的去學(xué)習(xí)地理，歷史，算術(shù)和語法。這也是為什么，我在六歲的時候放棄了本可能大有作為的畫家夢想。一號畫作和二號畫作的失敗讓我遍體鱗傷。大人們永遠(yuǎn)不會明白任何事情除了他們自己，孩子們厭煩事事都都需要向大人們解釋清楚。
So then I chose another profession, and learned to pilot airplanes. I have ?own a little over all parts of the world; and it is true that geography has been very useful to me. At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable.
In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence. I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasn’t much improved my opinion of them.
Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted, I tried the experiment of showing him my Drawing Number One, which I have always kept. I would try to find out, so, if this was a person of true understanding. But, whoever it was, he, or she, would always say, “That is a hat.” Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors, or primeval forests, or stars. I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge, and golf, and politics, and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man.
自那之后，我選擇了另一種職業(yè)，我學(xué)會了駕駛飛機，我已經(jīng)飛遍地球的每一個角落。實話說，學(xué)習(xí)地理還是非常有用的。只需一眼，我就能從亞利桑那州中找到中國。如果有人迷路了，這種知識是非常有用的。
在漫漫人生旅途中，我邂逅了許多關(guān)心重大事件的人，我也同大部分成年人生活在一起了。我非常親密的對待他們，然而也沒有改變我對他們的認(rèn)識。
只要我遇到那些我覺得思想開明的大人們，我就會試著向他們展示畫作一號，這個我一直保存著，我想知道是不是有人能夠真正理解它。但是，無論他是誰，男人，還是，女人，都只是說:“這只是一頂帽子?！苯酉聛砦覍⒉粫退崞痱呋蛟忌?。而且把自己降到他的等級，和他談?wù)撽P(guān)于橋，高爾夫，政治和領(lǐng)帶，大人非常開心能遇見這樣一個善解人意的朋友。
